Thoughts on Christ and His Word

Do you ever get angry when you are interrupted as you're trying to do something important? Jesus was a man of compassion even when His plans were interrupted.  When Jesus heard what had happened, he withdrew by boat privately to a solitary place. Hearing of this, the crowds followed him on foot from the towns. 14 When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them and healed their sick.   Matthew 14:13-14  Jesus had just heard that John the Baptist had been killed. So he wanted to go to a private place all alone to pray. But when he arrived to that place he was met by a crowd. A crowd that wanted his attention because many of them were sick or had brought a sick friend or relative.I would have probably gotten frustrated or even angry at this interruption of my plans. But Jesus had compassion. He healed the sick and undoubtedly taught them God's Word.  As evening approached the disciples wanted to get rid of all these people and have them leave to go and bu

As we complete our campaign of "Ambassadors for Christ, I was reminded of how Rick Warren summarized the purpose of our lives in chapter 39 of The Purpose Driven Life. He writes: Jesus...helped them [his disciples] to know and love God (worship), taught them to love each other (fellowship), gave them the Word so they could grow to maturity (discipleship), showed them how to serve (ministry), and sent them out to tell others (mission). Today God calls each of us to the same work. Not only does he want us to live out his purposes, he also wants us to help others do the same. God wants us to introduce people to Christ, bring them into his fellowship, help them grow to maturity and discover their place of service, and then send them out to reach others, too. I agree that a well-rounded Christian life will live out these five purposes in proper balance. May God grant that all the saints in The Rock live a purpose-filled life for the honor and glory of our great God and

Ruth is one of the best examples of loyalty in the Bible.  Although her mother-in-law begged her to return to her own people after the death of her husband and get a new husband from her own people, Ruth refused - "Ruth answered, “Don't ask me to leave you! Let me go with you. Wherever you go, I will go; wherever you live, I will live. Your people will be my people, and your God will be my God. Wherever you die, I will die, and that is where I will be buried. May the Lord's worst punishment come upon me if I let anything but death separate me from you!”  Ruth 1:16-17 GNT Why was Ruth so loyal?  Not because Naomi demanded it, but because of the selfless LOVE Naomi always expressed towards Ruth. Loyalty is not something we demand from others, its something we give to those who have loved us greatly. We should be loyal to those who love us, but our greatest loyalty is to God who graciously gave His Son to die on a cross and save us from our sin.